UPSC Prelims 2020 Question:

With reference to the scholars/literateurs of ancient India,

consider the following statements:

1. Panini is associated with Pushyamitra Shunga. 
2. Amarasimha is associated with Harshavardhana. 
3. Kalidasa is associated with Chandra Gupta-II. 
   
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Explanation:

• Panini was a Sanskrit grammarian who gave a comprehensive and scientific theory of phonetics, phonology, and morphology. He wrote a treatise called Astadhyayi in which he distinguishes between the language of sacred texts and the usual language of communication. Panini gave formal production rules and definitions to describe Sanskrit grammar.
  
  

• Pushyamitra Shunga ruled from 185 BCE to 151 BCE while according to experts, Panini lived in the 4th, 5th or 6th century BCE. So, statement 1 is not correct.
  
  

• Amarasimha lived during the reign of Chandragupta II (380 CE - 415 CE) of the Gupta empire. He was one of the nine gems or 'Navratna' in his court. He wrote a Sanskrit thesaurus titled Namalinganusasana (Amarakosha).  So, statement 2 is not correct.
  
  

• Kalidasa belonged to the court of Chandragupta II and was also one of his nine gems or 'Navratna' in his court.  He wrote plays like Abhijnanasakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram and Kumarasambhava. So, statement 3 is correct.
  
  

Therefore, option (3) is the correct answer.

Subject: History| Literature